I can remember when social media first came in! It wasn’t known neither was it used by a good majority of people.
Today, it has become the rave of the town! Individuals, bodies, entities now resort to social media to not only socialize but also sell their product or service.
Social media marketing strategy: Its benefits
As an individual looking to sell a service or product, you are operating an incomplete marketing strategy if you are not doing it through social media.
The benefits associated with marketing via social media are endless. Some of them include;
- Larger audience
- Better connection with your audience
- Improved website traffic
- Increase in brand awareness
- Better sales
Draft your goals and objectives
To begin your social media strategy, you need to first have and write down a solid goal or objective.
This is because your goals help you evolve your strategies over time, and should align with your overall marketing efforts.
Make your set goals attainable and further break them into smaller action steps.
You also need to set a deadline.
Use video content
Everyone knows how important making video content on social media has become.
From Facebook Live Videos which creates an authentic connection with your audience to Instagram videos, content video making has been proven to increase the sales of its users.
It also fosters engagements as you get to interact with your audience and answer their questions.
If possible, combine live and recorded videos to increase followership.
Use the right tools
Use the right tools! This determines the strength of your social media marketing strategy and ensures it runs seamlessly.
Begin by determining the social media management software to schedule your social content with.
You can also opt for social media management tools, as they also monitor your presence.
Reduce the salesy tactics
People do not just want to buy your product! They want to build trust and real connections with you.
Do not make your page all about sales promotions! Be versatile and entertaining!
Customers never patronize any seller they aren’t acquainted with.
Connect with audience
To avoid adverse repercussions, ensure you build relationships with your audience or customers.
To expand your reach, genuinely connect with your audience.
Social media is one of the best tools for creating content and bringing in new customers or clients.
To connect better with your audience, be active on Facebook groups and reply to comments on your business page, retweet tweets, survey your audience et cetera.
Research your audience
To maximize profit, you have to ensure you engage and connect with your audience.
But then, you need to understand them to connect with them.
Research their needs and wants as that is your key to creating a successful social media strategy.
Participate in forum conversations where your target audience are.
Reply comments on your blog and social media channels. It creates an invisible bond.
Request a feedback.
Consider trends
The world is evolving.
As a marketer, you must revolve with it. This entails adjusting to the latest trends in the industry and fine-tuning them to serve you.
Look up the current social media statistics for all platforms.
Move with the trend! It’s good for your business growth.
Create a Facebook group
If looking to promote your products, engage your audience, increase your website traffic, and grow your business via Facebook, now is the time to create a Facebook group.
It is a strategy worth adding to any social media marketing plan.
To do this, go to the bottom left corner with the ‘Create’ icon on your newsfeed, then click on ‘’Group”.
Fill in the required information and tada, you are good to go!
Never make a post just for the fun of it!
Every social media post of yours should be goal oriented and carefully analyzed.
Every social media channel has its own usefulness as regards marketing. From Facebook down to LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, each channel has its unique purpose and uses.
Understand them in order to choose the one that best fits your line of business.
Also, ensure you market using the right words to convey your message. Now, this is dependent on the social network in use.
Doing this increases your sales, followers, engagements and traffic.
Utilize Pinterest
Pinterest is one of the largest visual search engines available and extremely popular.
It can increase your income, website traffic and credibility.
To startup, set up a business account and then enable rich pins.
Create a captivating keyword-rich profile and relevant boards.
Engage your audience!
This will increase your income, and make you a figure to reckon with.
Organize contests
One of the best ways to increase your followers, online visibility and engagement is by organizing a social media contest.
Offer something valuable and irresistible as a prize to whoever wins.
To do this, clearly state the goal behind the contest and figure the social media channel to host it.
Give a deadline for participation and possible submission.
Create and ‘aggressively’ promote the contest.
Allow your audience to do most of the work. This will increase your engagements.
You can go a step further by awarding points to contestants who share the contest and get more followers for the page.
Relax and watch the contest run itself!
Create intriguing images
Your priority should also be to craft mind-blowing images for social media. Even as a novice, you can craft intriguing images to further amaze your target audience.
You can also opt to outsource the work.
Ensure your business image is captivating. There are a number of websites to get free images from e.g. pixabay.
Promotion is key
Creating content is one thing! Getting people to see and appreciate it is another!
This is where you need promotion.
Advertise aggressively! That product won’t advertise itself.
Use relevant hashtags and popular keywords where necessary.
Organize a contest.
Promote your content on all your channels.
In all, promote that content!
Conclusion
Your audience should always be your top priority!
Social media marketing is very crucial and ideal for increased sales. For effectiveness, take it very seriously.
Social media marketing is hard work and varies based on the channel used.
If you are not already taking advantage of this opportunity, you need to hop right in!